My musings, reflections on life here in Shiloh, Israel. Original, personal, spiritual and political. Peace, security and Israeli sovereignty. While not a "group blog," Shiloh Musings includes the voices of other Jews in The Land of Israel.
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Monday, May 2, 2016

Bernie Sanders: Vote for Him Since He's Jewish or Davka Don't?

When I was growing up, in the middle of the previous century in New York, the accepted "rule" was to support anyone Jewish, because we could trust Jews to do the best for us. And also, when voting in the Herut (prior to Likud primaries) I'd look for any female name on the list and vote for her, just because I wanted to support women in that bastion of male power politics. I've come a long way, baby, and now I'm most suspicious of Jews in politics/office, out of Israel, and I check out female candidates/wannabes as carefully as the males before giving them my vote.

And one thing I've learned when it comes to Jews trying to make it in foreign politics is that they overcompensate their Jewish identity by being extra-anti-Israel to prove that they are loyal Americans, Brits etc.

AP Photo/John Locher

I'm relieved that Bernie Sanders seems to be well out of the running for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, because Hillary has an unbeatable lead in delegates. As an Israeli, one who recognizes the historical and strategic importance of our Biblical Homeland, I was very suspicious and wary of Sanders's extreme radical ideology/politics, because his philosophical bedfellows support and identify with the Arabs here, not the Jews.

There is no doubt in my mind that Israel's capitulation and trust in America as a friend in 1973, which blinded our leaders here to the then upcoming surprise Yom Kippur War was because Henry Kissinger, yes, a Jew, was Secretary of State for Nixon. The harrowing stories of those early days of the war show how close we were to defeat. The Nixon-Kissinger Government carefully allowed just enough additional arms to create a stalemate between Israel and Egypt, but Gd planned differently and enabled us to defeat Egypt and Syria. This caused great dispapointmt to Nixon and Kissinger who had planned on moving in as peacekeepers. The American army units were waiting in Europe since late that summer. Yes, although Israel was taken by surprise, the USA knew in advance!

And I've long since those innocent days in the early 1970's ceased to vote for "any female." I always supported Geula Cohen, may she live and be well, for her dedicated and consistent pro-Land of Israel politics, not because she was born with a womb. I davka consider voting for someone just because she is a woman is as sexist as voting against someone because of their sex. And voting for someone because he's black, asian or whatever is just as racist as voting against for the same reason.

Ture equality is looking at what's in the person, their achievements and ideology. We should never let sentiment get in the way of our voting choices!

Look, a person has to move beyond narrow parochialism and think about the greater good.Do you vote for a person because he's "undzer" or is your choice based on the best person for the job.What's more, we have to stop assuming that because a person was born Jewish that he feels any actual connection to the Jewish Nation. He might feel some kind of an ethnic identification, or perhaps he simply doesn't care at all. It's like when people are astounded because a Jew runs Facebook but allows so much antisemitism on the site. Who says he cares one whit about being Jewish? Who says Bernie does?